University of St.Gallen receives EQUIS seal of approval for five years

9 July 2018. The internationally recognised quality of teaching, research and executive education in St.Gallen is very important for the University. This is why the HSG regularly has itself examined against international quality standards by independent experts and has its quality checked by independent institutions in the context of accreditations. The University has been EQUIS-accredited since 2001. The HSG has been awarded this seal of approval for the maximum period of five years after the latest reaccreditation process, which means that it will not have to face another EFMD evaluation until 2023.

Comprehensive self-reflection

A reaccreditation is primarily about self-reflection and looking ahead. In an extensive self-assessment report, the University of St.Gallen looks at ten of the standards prescribed by EFMD: among other things, it reports about the developments in its curricula, research, the range of executive education programmes, as well as its internationalisation strategy. EFMD also reviews the quality and strategy of an institution in the areas of ethics, responsibility and sustainability. This self-assessment is supplemented by a 180-page report with facts and figures from the last five years. EFMD also wants to evaluate the student perspective. For this purpose, 21 HSG students compiled their assessment in a 25-page report.

In March 2018, an international peer-review team consisting of Prof. Tim Brailsford, Vice-Chancellor and President of Australia’s Bond University, Prof. Marion Debruyne, Dean of the Vlerick Business School in Belgium, and Prof. Francisco Veloso, Dean of Imperial College Business School in London, visited the University. The regional representative was Bruno Steuerer, Head of Group Learning and Development at Swiss Life. In the process, the information provided by the HSG was scrutinised, and its compliance with standards was checked, in interviews with all the stakeholders – from the University Management to students, young lecturers and the Administration.

Insight into the HSG’s "DNA"

About 15 discussions with approx. 70 participants, as well as meetings with people external to the University took place within a time window of two and a half days. Questions were asked of, among others, the President’s Board, the University’s Board of Governors, faculty responsible for executive education, researchers, non-tenured faculty, students from the various levels, as well as HSG alumni. This provided the experts with an insight into the "DNA" of the University of St.Gallen, including its strong points and challenges.

Now the HSG has been informed that it has been reaccredited for another five years, i.e. may continue to use the EQUIS label. Furthermore, the University of St.Gallen has been accredited by the US-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Besides its Swiss accreditation, it therefore also has the European and American accreditations relevant to its subject area.